I wheel the wagon over to the back of my car, completing the routine following an exhausting Sunday. Three buckets, two nets, tee, a cooler, and JJ’s bag get strategically positioned to fit like a game of Tetris.

What a weekend. What a day. We faced off against some of the best competition in the state, and we played great. After winning the first game, we held an 11-3 lead heading into what would be the final inning. We’d run out of gas. And JJ would be the final pitcher on the mound.

“Want a drink? Gatorade? Water? Snack?”

I hand JJ a Gatorade, and we take our seats in the car. I fire up the playlist that JJ created for rides to and from baseball, consisting primarily of new hip hop with cleaned-up lyrics (he’ll no longer listen to my “classic” stuff).

I scroll through MLB scores from the day to see how the Brewers, our favorite team, did, before starting up and maneuvering out of the busy parking lot.

“Brewers won, JJ!”

JJ asks me a long list of questions, the way a 10-year-old does, about the score, who pitched, and who hit home runs.

We agree on a lunch spot to refuel after a long day, and the GPS begins shouting corrections as I divert my path.

I worry about JJ. It was hard seeing him on the mound as the final run crossed. I was responsible for putting him there. I hope he’s okay.

“I was really proud of you today, Bud. I know that was a tough spot.”

“Thanks,” he smiles.

After that, the next hour is marked by mostly silence, interrupted by occasional small talk. Not uncomfortable silence. Comfortable.

The Ride Home

They say that the ride home following a game is one of the primary reasons for why young baseball players ultimately quit. It may not be scientific to loosely quote “they” here, but this bucket of time is undeniably crucial.

How will you handle it as a parent? As a coach? How will your approach impact your child’s perspective on playing the game?

The goal here isn’t to tell you how to parent. Everyone’s parenting style is different, as are the needs and personalities of our kids. Instead, it’s to help you step back and understand the importance of the ride home and how you can handle it most effectively.

The Ride Home: The Dangers

It’s been a long day. If you’re a parent who cheers on your child from the stands, you’ve had little contact with him during the past couple or several hours.

So much has happened. The good things. The bad things. You want to help him understand what he could have done differently.

Even if you’re the coach, you’ve only dedicated a fraction of your energy to your child during the past several hours. Now you can focus on him.

The danger is that you unload. You finally have the time to educate your child on all of the things you wanted to say during the past few hours.

Don’t do it.

The Ride Home: The Emotion

Baseball is an incredibly emotional game for all involved. When it’s win or go home, these emotions are amplified.

As a parent, you desperately want your child to succeed. Your emotions may be high related to how your child did or did not perform. Maybe you disagree with how the coach used your son. Maybe you’re upset with how teammates performed.

As the coach, only one team goes home truly satisfied. The odds are that you have some level of disappointment after the final game. Maybe you regret a decision you made. Or you’re frustrated with execution by the players. Or maybe emotion is high due to a rivalry, or umpiring, or parent drama.

Your child is dealing with his own complex emotions. Did he play well? Is he placing blame on himself for not executing? Youth players are often worried about not only performing well for their teammates, but pleasing their parents and coaches.

These emotions combine for a potentially destructive ride home. You can trap your child in a conversation for which he is not ready. It can lead to the erosion of his love for the game.

The Ride Home: Do This Instead

Avoid these types of phrases on the ride home:

“You shouldn’t have…”

“You should have…”

“Why did you…”

Allow your child to drive the conversation. If he wants to talk about the game, that’s fine — though do so delicately.

Use follow-up questions like, “How did you feel about that?” as opposed to using this time to coach and correct. Help him navigate what happened.

Or maybe you won’t talk about baseball at all. Maybe it will be 30 minutes of silence. That’s okay, too.

If you’re the coach, consider physically removing your hat when you enter the car. You were the coach on the field, and now you’re Dad.

Corrections and Coaching Later

The point here isn’t to avoid discussing the details of the game with your child at all costs. It’s simply to choose that moment effectively. The ride home is unlikely to result in a productive conversation.

Allow your child to reflect and unwind first. And allow yourself to cool down as well.

Then, later, talk about…

What he thought about the game(s)

What he did well

What he thinks he did well

What he could have done differently and how

On the ride home, provide the support your child needs from his parent. When he’s ready, coach and correct.

What I Do

Admittedly, I’m writing this for myself, too. I’m not perfect.

My ride home with my son is usually quiet, but comfortable. I do my best to leave the emotion of the games behind me. I turn on his playlist, and we head home.

If I bring up the games at all, it would only be to make very broad, positive statements.

“I was really proud of you today!”

“That was a great game.”

“How do you feel?”

The last one, of course, should be used delicately on the ride home, depending on the answer you expect to get.

I try to keep this conversation light. We cover the game at a surface level, if at all, but positively.

For us, the conversation usually shifts quickly to what we’re going to get to eat or how the Brewers (our favorite team) are doing. It’s not my time to coach or correct.

That will come later.

Your Turn

There are many goals in the course of a single youth baseball game. Some are life lessons, learning from mistakes, and having fun. And if you want more reps and to enjoy the thrill of victory, another goal is to win the game.

By now, you’ve undoubtedly seen the clip and read the quote from Herm Edwards, former head coach of the New York Jets: “You play to win the game.”

It’s simple, right? Edwards is annoyed, incredulous that anyone wouldn’t understand this simple, basic fact. But, lost in this simplicity, is a question: HOW?

The immediate response is to laugh off this question, and to state, plainly, “Score more runs than the other team.” Well, sure. That’s true. But do young players understand how that’s done?

If you’ve watched many youth baseball games, it quickly becomes painfully obvious — at all ages — that how the game is won is not clear to most players. It’s obvious, not because of poor mechanics, skills, or abilities. It’s obvious because so many fail to execute the little things that may not seem like a big deal but ultimately lead to scoring more runs — or letting the other team do so.

They don’t value and appreciate each of the small things that lead to scoring more runs — or preventing the opposition from scoring more runs. As kids, they often aren’t mature enough to connect small, seemingly uneventful, actions to an end result that may be separated by many innings or minutes.

So, let’s break this down. It may seem laborious. But, basic facts that many coaches and adults take for granted aren’t so obvious to young players. The ultimate goal is to establish in the minds of young players how each of these things are important — not just “because,” but how they directly impact wins and losses.

How do you win the game?

Score More Runs: Reach Base

When thinking about scoring more runs, the emphasis is often put on taking advantage of opportunities to reach home from those who are already on base. But the reality is, we need to CREATE more opportunities by reaching base — and avoiding outs — as many times as possible. We will score more runs if you can’t get us out.

Again, that may seem obvious. But there are many different ways to avoid outs, and we don’t seem to appreciate them all equally.

Walks: A walk is far from glamorous. Some hitters detest the walk, and avoid them at all costs. There may actually be a decent argument for good, young hitters at lower levels to swing at bad pitches (poor defense leads to more bases), but this habit will become less and less productive as they age.

Applaud the walk. Walks can and do lead to runs.

Hit By Pitch: Reaching base by getting hit by a pitch may be the most selfless act in baseball. It will probably hurt. But you will reach base, which makes it more likely that your team will score.

Dropped Third Strike: After a third strike, what do you do? Do you drop your head, feel sorry for yourself, and accept your fate? Or are you STILL looking for any possible way on base?

The teams that take advantage of these opportunities make things very difficult for the opposition. Outs are seemingly harder to come by, and more runs will result.

Reach on Errors: One of the reasons that I don’t like counting errors, particularly for my offense, is that it fails to reflect the effort of the hitter and accepted imperfection of the opposition. If you put the ball in play, you have a chance — particularly if you never give up.

Put pressure on the defense. Make them throw the ball. Make them rush. HUSTLE. Get on base, even if it’s the “fault” of the defense. Your team will score more runs as a result.

Hits: Simple enough, right? Just get a hit, Jimmy. Of course, it’s more complicated than that. But a big part of actually getting an “official” hit is swinging at strikes. It’s being aware of the situation. And it’s hustling down to first.

Score More Runs: Take Extra Bases

Going station-to-station requires more effort to score a single run — and a higher likelihood of stranding runners. The best way to accelerate run creation is by taking extra bases. How do we do that?

Extra Base Hits: We’ll start with the most obvious. This one takes the most skill to execute consistently. It assumes no mistakes by the defense. In most cases, it is the result of a hard hit ball that travels past the outfielders.

Steal Bases: Stolen bases result in players closer to home, making it more likely that a run will score even in the event of an out. If you have the skill to take these extra bases, it’s a big advantage.

Advance on Wild Pitches and Passed Balls: Are you paying attention? Are you taking a good primary and secondary lead? Are you athletic and ready to jump at the opportunity to advance?

A ball that gets by the catcher and to the backstop should almost always result in an extra base. But, where teams can take advantage is on the ball in the dirt that doesn’t get by. A runner who anticipates this and is ready to go can take that base that others won’t.

Take Advantage of Mistakes: You hit a clean single to the outfield. Are you satisfied with that hit, and coasting into first? Or are you sprinting down the line, anticipating a mistake?

The opposition will give you opportunities to take extra bases throughout the game. Will you take advantage of them? Or will you be complacent, stuck at the base you were willfully accepting?

Score More Runs: Avoid Outs

While avoiding outs is implied in the “Reach Base” section, it’s important to add it to consider running the bases. When it comes to effective baserunning, it’s a delicate balance between aggressiveness and over-aggressiveness that leads to outs. While that risk is worth taking at specific times, the general goal is to avoid outs. How?

Get Good Jumps: A good jump doesn’t guarantee you’ll be safe at the next base and beyond, but it’s a great first step (pun intended). Far too often we see a close out on the bases and chalk it up to bad luck — ignoring the missed opportunity due to a bad jump.

Hustle at All Times: Quick, concise reactions. Minimize lag. Make no assumptions. Take nothing for granted. Bust your butt to every base, and you have a chance to avoid what may at first appear to be an easy out.

Make Good Decisions: While the base coaches may ultimately be responsible, at least visually, for decisions on the bases, the runners themselves can’t rely entirely on their coaches. Their good decisions and anticipation can make their coaches look good. Bad decisions can have the opposite effect.

Be Aware: What’s happening around you? Where is the ball? What is the situation? A general alertness and awareness of what is developing around you can help avoid outs on the bases.

Score More Runs: Productive Outs

Sometimes you get out. It’s going to happen. But the best case scenario is that these outs are productive — leading to a positive result in exchange.

Limit Strikeouts: I understand that an increase in strikeouts is part of the professional game, and there are rewards to this tradeoff. But we don’t play at the professional level, and putting the ball in play gives players a significant chance at a positive result.

Until double plays become more common, the strikeout is the worst possible outcome. Sure, popouts and lineouts and several other outs can lead to the same result, but any ball in play has a far greater potential to lead to something good.

Defenses are imperfect — some far more than others. Put the ball in play and force them to do something with it.

Move the Runner: This is partially related to limiting strikeouts, but simply putting the ball in play won’t necessarily move the runner. The situation may require a ball hit behind the runner to move a runner from second to third. Or a fly ball to the outfield to score a runner from third. Or any ball in the air over a drawn-in infield.

I know that many will want to include the bunt here, but I put it under the “move the runner” umbrella. Even if you aren’t a big proponent of bunting, there are many ways for a batter to move a runner over.

In fact, I’d include some situations related to the strikeout. Even if you don’t reach first on a dropped third strike, forcing the throw may lead to a runner moving up to third or even home. And even if the rules dictate an automatic out (first base occupied and fewer than two outs), running towards first can create confusion and lead to an unnecessary throw.

Run Prevention: Throw Strikes

If your team executes on the items above, you can help maximize your runs scored. But if you do a bad job of run prevention, you may still lose. One of the primary ways to prevent runs is by throwing strikes.

Get Strikeouts: Now, this is easier said than done. But, the more strikeouts you get, the less you leave up to your defense to make plays. Of course, this can’t be at the expense of wildness, leading to more walks. A walk, in my mind, cancels out a strikeout. So, take your Strikeouts – Walks and compare it to the opposition.

Limit Walks: Even the best hitters, with the ball in play, have a chance to get out. Giving free bases via walks is incredibly frustrating because it doesn’t allow your defense an opportunity to convert an out.

Walks will happen. But walking fewer batters than the opposition is a great start.

Limit Hit By Pitch: Same as the walk, but often more difficult to swallow. Sometimes, a pitcher struggles to find the zone and a walk feels inevitable. But that 0-2 hit by pitch hurts.

Limit Wild Pitches: Even if you avoid walks and hit by pitch, an otherwise wild pitcher can give the opposition extra bases with wild pitches. As discussed earlier, those extra bases accelerate the ability to score a run.

Run Prevention: Convert More Outs

I like to break this down into difficulty because you can’t just say “convert outs.” It’s as easy as that, right?

We need to account for age, ability level, and expectations.

Convert More Easy Outs: An “easy” out is going to be defined differently depending on the age and level. By definition, it’s the out that should be converted nearly every single time.

No bad hops. No long throws. No hard hit balls. Think things like a slow roller to the first baseman. Or a weak pop-up to the shortstop. Minimal moving parts and chances for a play to go wrong.

If you convert all of these, you’re in good shape. The team that starts putting runners on base or giving up extra outs and bases by making these bad mistakes will put themselves in a hole.

Convert More Average Outs: Again, account for your own expectations to define this. It’s not an automatic out, but it’s an out that should be made in “most” cases. The ball is hit harder, throws need to be made, and outfielders need to run to get it.

You want to make a higher percentage of these plays than your opposition. Doing so gives your offense more opportunities to minimize outs and score runs.

Convert More Difficult Outs: These are the plays that you don’t expect to be made. They result in “ooohs” and “ahhhs” and applause. It’s the diving catch. The throw from deep in the hole. The out that everyone assumed would be a hit.

For two evenly matched teams, these difficult outs are often the difference between a win and a loss.

Run Prevention: Limit Extra Bases

We talked about how important it is for our offense to take extra bases when possible, leading to runs scored. Just as important, we need to prevent the opposition from getting those extra bases.

It’s close to impossible to prevent it entirely. But doing the little things that make the extra base difficult, forcing the opposition to go station-to-station, is a really good way to frustrate the other team. They will strand more runners and may ultimately take greater risks, leading to more outs.

Prevent Stolen Bases: It isn’t as simple as having a catcher with a great arm. At least half of stolen base success can be attributed to the pitcher. How well does he hold the runner on? Can he prevent a good jump from first?

Of course, the catcher also needs to do his part to keep the ball in front of him. He needs to be alert and aware of the baserunner. He needs to do his job of holding the runners, too, without taking unnecessary risks. And he needs to make good throws.

Collect the Ball Quickly: A single was hit to you in the outfield. Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t assume the runner is stopping at first (or other runners are stopping at their bases). Get to and collect that ball quickly, while not rushing.

Hit the Cutoff: One key mistake made by players of all ages is a failure to hit the cutoff man. Maybe they panic and attempt to make the throw all the way home. Or maybe they simply make a poor throw. A failure to hit the cutoff will often lead to extra bases, if not runs, for the opposition.

Keep the Ball in Front: This applies to infielders and outfielders. Even if it’s going to be a clean hit, take a good angle to prevent it from getting by you. Keep not only the batter from taking an extra base but those runners already on base from moving closer to home.

Know Your Responsibility: Who is on base? How many outs are there? You must understand the situation before the ball is hit.

Run Prevention: Minimize Impact of Mistakes

Mistakes are going to happen. These kids aren’t pros, and they aren’t robots, either. We accept they aren’t perfect, but we prepare them and help limit the number of mistakes that they make. The fewer and smaller mistakes that are made, the fewer opportunities you give the opposition to take advantage.

Here are some examples…

Back Up Throws: It’s commonplace. There’s a close play at home. Throw gets by the catcher. The pitcher is still standing on or near the mound. Runner on first advances easily to second.

This doesn’t have to happen. But you can’t will for your players to back up every throw. You need to put a plan in place. You need to practice it. You need to talk about it.

With backups in place, runners are less likely to advance on an errant throw. That could mean a run not scoring on that play. Or it could mean giving your defense an additional chance to get outs that prevent that throw.

Back Up Teammates: A ball is hit right to the left fielder. The center fielder freezes, assuming his teammate will make the play. The ball gets by and rolls to the fence, resulting in two or three extra bases.

Had the center fielder been there, the runner may not have advanced at all. Or a single base, at worst. Someone always needs to be there — or be making an attempt to get there.

Once again, this needs to be an expectation based on practice and detailed discussion, rather than reflexively getting upset when the ball gets by.

Prevent Errant Throws: Often underappreciated is the first baseman who prevents a bad throw from getting by him. When you see the shortstop make a bad throw, rolling into the dugout, the expected reaction is to blame the shortstop. Bad throw, E-6.

The reality? Players should be expected to make the more difficult plays, too. Help your teammate. Scoop the ball out of the dirt. Come off the bag to prevent the ball from getting by.

Making these plays — even if the bad throw still allows a runner — can help limit the damage and ultimately prevent more runs.

React Quickly: “THROW THE BALL!” We’ve seen it, particularly at young ages. The outfielder, standing with the ball. Not sure what to do. Meanwhile, runners keep on running. It’s important that fielders act quickly and confidently. This can only be reinforced through effective practice.

Your Turn

This, of course, isn’t an all-encompassing list of all factors that lead to winning and losing a game. But it’s the foundation for things to focus on with your team.

Fielding in baseball, when done right, looks easy. Everyone knows their responsibilities and where they need to be. Understanding these responsibilities makes up the fundamentals of fielding in baseball.

An underappreciated aspect of winning baseball games is run prevention. But even under that umbrella, we often focus on throwing strikes and limiting obvious mistakes. But the reality is that a major portion of run prevention is limiting the number of bases each runner takes.

This is controlled primarily within the team’s ability to be in the right place at the right time. Quick throws to the right base. Even if a ball gets by, someone is there to pick it up.

While the Spiders have a playbook detailing defensive responsibilities, it’s important that young players aren’t simply memorizing each scenario. Because plays are fluid and often don’t occur the way we expect, fundamentals are critical to help players adjust.

One of the fun challenges of coaching a young team of 10 and 11-year-olds this season is that it forces me to take a step back. They often don’t understand the basics that we take for granted with older kids. And by starting at a fundamental level, it can help coaches better explain the “why” to players of all ages.

In a recent Chalk Talk with my players, we took this necessary step back. Instead of diving into a situation and the associated responsibilities, I asked a simple question: What factors determine what you need to do and where you need to go?

1. Who Will Field the Ball?

Pretty simple. The ball is hit somewhere. Someone needs to get it.

In tee-ball, we’ve seen what happens when the ball is hit. Nine kids all converge on the ball. But eventually, they begin to understand that not everyone should field it.

If it’s hit directly at one player, it’s obvious who needs to field it. But it’s often not that clear and two or more players need to attack the ball.

So, when the ball is hit, that is the first question a player should be asking himself. Who is going to field this ball?

2. Who Will Back Up the Fielder?

One of the primary mistakes young fielders make is assume a teammate will get the ball. While, yes, they may be positioned to get it, what happens if it gets by them?

THIS is an area that so often separates the bad teams from the better ones. A ball that gets by an outfielder can’t go from one to four bases. Hopefully, it remains at a single base. Worst case, it becomes only one additional base.

There will ALWAYS be at least two outfielders going for the ball hit to the outfield. In the example below, a ball is hit directly to the right fielder. The center fielder, taking nothing for granted, backs him up.

All players need to quickly observe whether they are in the area to back up a teammate who is fielding the ball.

3. Who Will the Ball Be Thrown To?

Once the ball is hit, we also need to be thinking about the runners on base and other conditions that dictate where the ball will be thrown.

The focus will typically be on limiting bases of the lead runner. On a simple base hit, for example, we’ll usually want to throw one base ahead of where the lead runner is going (assuming we can’t get him at the next base).

So, with a runner on first, we’ll throw to third…

With a runner on second, we’ll throw home…

With no runners on, we’ll throw to second…

Who will field that throw? Will it be you?

4. Who Will Cut-Off or Relay That Throw?

When there’s a throw from the outfield, there will almost always be a cut-off or relay man in between. The presence of this player minimizes the length of the throw, and can redirect either an errant throw or a throw to another base.

This player will be roughly around the midway point between the thrower and the ultimate destination of that throw (preferably in a straight line). On throws home, this will typically be either the first…

…or third baseman…

Will that player be you?

5. Who Will Back Up the Relay?

Even if you aren’t receiving the throw or the relay, you may be backing up the relay. An example of this would be a double cutoff situation on extra base hits where a second baseman and shortstop both go out into the outfield — the second of which is primarily there to direct and back up the cutoff.

Another common scenario is the pitcher — particularly with no runners on. The pitcher will often be the one to back up throws back to the infield.

There is always something to do or somewhere to go. When it seems there’s nothing else for you to do, this is often your responsibility!

6. Who Will Back Up the Throw?

The throw we refer to here is the throw to the ultimate destination. So, a throw home or to another base, rather than the throw to the cutoff. What happens if the ball gets through? If other players are on base, they will undoubtedly advance.

Once again, this is very often the pitcher’s responsibility — particularly on throws home and to third. We’ve seen this a couple of times above already, but let’s share them again.

The pitcher backing up a potential throw to third…

The pitcher backing up a potential throw home…

Next time you see a throw get by one of these bases, take a look around to see where the pitcher is. He’s likely standing on the mound!

Another example of this impacts outfielders. If the ball is hit to the right side of the field, the left fielder isn’t without a responsibility. There will often be a throw to second or third. In those cases, he needs to position himself properly so that any ball that gets by will be backed up.

We’ve already looked at that example a couple of times, but this just shows you how every player’s responsibility changes!

This Applies to Infield Hits, Too!

While these responsibilities are often associated with hits to the outfield, let’s not forget hits on the infield. Once again, coaching younger players has made me realize that this is something we often take for granted.

Let’s consider what happens when a ball is hit to the first baseman with a runner on first…

1B: Fields the ball and chooses option of throwing to second, stepping on first, or flipping to 2B/P covering

2B: Backs up first baseman and runs around to cover 1B

P: Runs to cover first base

SS: Covers second base

RF: Runs in to field the ball in case it gets through

CF: Initially runs to back up right fielder in case the ball gets through

LF: Ready to back up throws to either second or third, depending on the situation

3B: Covers third in the event of a play there

Here’s what it looks like…

Your Turn

There’s always so much to do! It’s important that young players understand that this is less about memorizing and more about instincts, reactions, and thinking ahead.

1. Where is the ball going?
2. Who will field it?
3. Who will back it up?
4. Where will the ball be thrown? Who will receive it?
5. Who will cut off that throw?
6. Who will back up that cutoff?

Oftentimes, crazy plays happen. We can’t plan for them with a playbook. But if players are thinking this way, they’ll put themselves in a good position to optimally prevent runs from scoring.

We all know that the team that scores the most runs in a baseball game will win. That’s the goal. But achieving that goal often comes down to getting the most baserunners and taking advantage of the most opportunities. To do this, we often forget baseball’s most selfless act: The hit by pitch.

Getting hit by a pitch takes no skill, right? It just requires the pitcher to make a very wild pitch. But it also requires something very important from the hitter: Courage.

Getting hit by the baseball hurts. It’s natural instinct to jump out of the way. But players and teams that ignore that instinct have a distinct advantage.

While getting hit by a pitch may hurt, it’s only temporary — if done right. It will leave no more than a bruise, and the reward for that temporary discomfort is worth it.

During the 2018 season, Spiders batters were hit by 70 pitches compared to 43 by our opponents. While many factors contribute to this, a big one is that wearing a pitch is part of our culture.

We encourage it. We reward it. When a batter gets hit by a pitch, he’s cheered on by his teammates and he wears it as a badge of honor.

Here’s a closer look at how you can use the hit by pitch to your advantage…

Know the Count

One of the biggest frustrations as a coach is seeing a kid in a two-strike count jump out of the way of a pitch. After that, he strikes out — or gets out some other way.

What a huge missed opportunity.

The sad thing is that most young hitters will head back to the dugout completely oblivious to what happened. They only think of the result and not the path to that result. They don’t realize how jumping away hurt themselves — and their team.

Hitters need to understand when they’re at a disadvantage. They need to see that inside pitch as their best chance to get on base and help their team.

Know the Situation

I have no problem with a batter wearing a pitch in any situation. Bases empty, bases loaded, no outs, or two outs. All that said, there are times when hitters absolutely need to be conscious of this opportunity.

If the bases are loaded, a hit by pitch is an easy run. Don’t jump away. In particular, wearing that pitch with two outs and the bases loaded is critical given the likelihood of scoring when the ball is put in play drops.

Hitters at the bottom of the lineup need to be fearless. If they struggle to hit, they need to find other ways on base. That could be via the walk, but you also don’t want players looking for walks. But if that pitch comes in close? Wear it!

There are times when you could argue that wearing a pitch may not be in your team’s best interest. For example, if your best hitter is up with runners at second and third and you need multiple runs, you may prefer he jumps out of the way.

That said, this situation is similar to a walk. While I prefer my best hitter swings the bat there, I also want them to take what the pitchers give them. They want to put you on base? Let them.

Know the Pitch

Getting hit by a fastball can hurt. I get it. Telling a kid to stand in there and take it is easier said than done.

But offspeed? Come on, man.

There is no excuse for ducking out of the way of an inside offspeed pitch. As long as you wear it properly (see the next section), it’s not going to hurt. It’s a free base, and you’ll smile down the line.

Wear it the Right Way

There’s a certain art to wearing a pitch. You always want to turn your head and body away from the pitch that is going to hit you. You do NOT want to get hit on the front of your body (more on that in a minute).

The best places to get hit are on the butt, back of the leg, and even the back — though that can absolutely sting for a while!

Avoid Injury

Let’s make something very clear: I do not want any player risking injury to get hit by a pitch. It’s not worth it.

The baseball is hard. Some pitchers throw with a lot of velocity. If it hits you in the wrong place, you’re going to get more than a base — you’re getting an injury.

In particular, we don’t want anyone getting hit on the head or face. Even on the helmet, where you’re typically protected well, leaves too little room for error. We don’t want to mess with concussions or head injuries.

Not far away in terms of severity are pitches to the hand, wrist, or elbow. So many little bones, so little cushion, and significant chance for a break and serious injury.

Getting hit by a pitch is selfless, but you’re not helping your team if doing so puts you out of action.

Incentivize It

Make a big deal of a player who gets hit by a pitch. Appreciate that it takes courage to do so. Don’t take it for granted.

Acknowledge it when it happens and recognize that player after a game. Feel free to even give special awards to players who get hit by pitches.

Something the Spiders did this past season was give coupons for free Slurpees when they got hit. It’s a little thing, but the kids wanted them!

Have Fun With It

Whenever there’s a pitch inside that a player backs away from, our players will yell, “Wear it!” They do it playfully, and it’s all a fun game between the batter and his teammates.

The bottom line is if everyone is on board, it becomes something that players actually want to do. They look forward to it. They wear the pitch with a smile, and they get a big ovation from their teammates as they head towards first.

Teach It

Finally, don’t assume that players understand this. Make sure that they know how wearing a pitch is baseball’s most selfless act. Help them understand how it helps your team. And make sure that they know how to wear a pitch to avoid injury.

Don’t just expect that they’ll do it. Most kids don’t. Teach it!

Your Turn

It’s been an incredible ride as a coach, watching the players on our 14u team grow and achieve. I’ve coached some of these boys since they were eight, nine, and 10 years old, and it’s a bit emotional seeing them “graduate” to high school.

But with that turn of the page comes a new chapter… The 2019 11u Spiders!

I’m excited to start over with this new group. We already have a core group of kids, and we’ll be finalizing our roster over the coming weeks.

As I continue to recruit and hold tryouts, I realize parents of prospective Spiders have questions. I hope to answer those questions here.

1. What Level Will We Play?

This time of year, it seems like every team plays AAA/Majors. When coaches recruit, they want you to believe they are a Majors team. The reality is that very few actually are.

The starting point for this team is my son, JJ. He’s been waiting for the opportunity to be a Spider for a long time! As a coach and a dad, my goal is for him to be the average player on the team. I want him to be challenged, but I don’t want to deal with the issues associated with the coach’s kid being one of the weaker kids on the team.

For reference, JJ has played for two of the best teams in the state during the past three seasons. So we’re looking at a simliar level.

Will we be a majors team? Will we be high AAA? That all depends upon how we fill out the rest of our roster. If your kid is a high majors player, that takes us a step closer to being a majors team.

Ultimately, I’m not a fan of labels. Having talent is the first step. But after that, we need to perform. I won’t enter us into majors tournaments just to say we did. We’ll do it because we can compete and win.

2. How Do I Coach My Own Kid?

Yes, I’m a dad coach. I understand the potential stigma associated with dad coaches. Many parents complain about Daddy Ball. I’ve certainly seen Daddy Ball in action. But I’ve also seen the complete opposite, which is just as unacceptable — treating your own son worse than anyone else.

When on the playing field or practice field, I’m “Coach,” not “Dad.” And my goal is that when you watch a practice or game, you have no idea who my son is.

He may not be playing the glory positions or hitting third. And if he is, it’s only because he earned it. And I won’t be treating him more harshly than anyone else.

I do my best to treat everyone fairly.

3. What Positions Are We Looking For?

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that you shouldn’t focus too much on filling specific positions. We want athletes who are versatile and can play multiple positions.

Even if you’ve been a shortstop in the past, you may not be a shortstop on this team. The truth is that we’ll likely end with more than half of our team who normally played shortstop.

If you only play catcher or first base, that can become a problem. What if we have a player who is better there? What if you can’t then find a spot on the field?

By focusing on athletes who can play everywhere, we can easily fill holes. You will always have a place on the field.

Sure, we want pitching. Everyone wants that ace. But I also want our entire team to pitch. And if we don’t have a defense, that ace pitching will go to waste.

4. How Many Tournaments Will We Play?

At the moment, we’re looking to play in about 12 tournaments. Weather is an issue in Colorado, so we’ll likely sign up for more than that. But when the season is done, we’ll have played in about a dozen.

How many games that results in, of course, will depend upon how we do. The 14u Spiders team this year will end up playing between 75 and 80 games. But that’s only because we consistently play until the championship game. That could easily be closer to 60 with less success.

We’ll play in a combination of Triple Crown, USSSA, and CABA (potentially PBR if other teams sign up).

5. How Much Will We Travel?

I plan on signing up for one tournament in Arizona in March and another in Steamboat Springs in June. The main reason is that these are fun experiences for the kids.

I don’t travel for the sake of traveling. It’s expensive and can be stressful when traveling often. We’ll only travel more than these two times if our roster is good enough for it — if it seems we need to travel to be challenged.

6. How Long is the Season?

I’ve learned that in Colorado, you need to play whenever the weather will allow for it. So while most teams don’t get started until March or even April, I’ll look to sign up for a tournament or two in February, assuming there are some (there were this season).

Practices begin in November (more on that in #10), but we’ll play our first tournament around President’s Day and we’ll finish up with state tournaments in mid-July.

7. Will We Play League?

That is the plan. I use league games as a way to get our kids additional reps outside during the week. I treat these games more like a glorified scrimmage, allowing those who may not pitch or play certain positions to get those opportunities.

I’ve also been known to flip the lineup from time to time in these games because I realize that if you have a set lineup for the entire season, some players automatically get more opportunities than others.

Ultimately, we’ll either play league or a league substitute. The other reason we play league is to get access to an outdoor field without having to squat one. If I can get an outdoor field and work with local coaches to schedule 8-10 mid-week games or scrimmages, we may do that instead.

8. Will We Play Fall?

We won’t play in a fall league, but I would like to have the team begin getting to know one another in a fall training environment. I plan to have the boys sign up for Bardo’s fall training program, which meets twice per week.

Assuming we don’t have many conflicts (football can be a big one this time of the year), we may sign up for a tournament or two as well.

9. Do We Have Access to a Practice Facility?

Yes. We practice through Bardo’s Diamond Sports in Parker, CO. It’s a terrific facility that includes an indoor infield, tunnels, and hitting pods.

Bardo’s truly offers the best facility in the area, and their staff offer first-rate instruction. They have made a huge difference for the Spiders over the seasons.

I respect them so much that I also bring my boys in for weekly lessons to work on specific skills. I can’t say enough good things about Bardo’s.

10. What is the Practice Schedule Like?

We start with movements and cardio in the months of November and December out of Bardo’s. During this time, we aren’t picking up bats or throwing yet (unless you are doing that separately).

We then have two full practices per week in Bardo’s from January through March. The practice during the week will be instructed by Bardo’s and the weekend practices will be instructed by our coaches.

We will hold classroom-style chalk talk practices as well to discuss strategy, approach, responsibilities, and game situations. These will generally be about 45 minutes before or after a scheduled practice, and we’ll do them most often during the winter months.

We will also have an outdoor practice during the league season, typically from March into June. We won’t always use our outdoor practice time when also playing league games, but we’ll use it often.

From April through the final tournament in July, we’ll have our single weekly practice that is instructed by Bardo’s staff.

11. What is Our Style of Play?

We will hustle. There is no excuse not to hustle. It takes no talent, and anyone can do it. Hustle will often be the difference between outs, hits, wins, and losses.

We will play smart defense, limiting miscues. One of the reasons we’re looking for good athletes is to make sure that we have outfielders who can change singles into outs and extra bases into singles. Our players will also be educated on backup and cutoff responsibilities, leading to crisp execution in the field.

We will be respectful of umpires, opponents, coaches, and teammates. As coaches, we will not tolerate disrespect of any of these groups.

Ultimately, we play team-first baseball, focusing on “we” over “me.” A selfish player has no place on our roster. We will support one another through the good and bad.

12. What is My Coaching Style and Philosophy?

I’ve admittedly evolved over the years. I’ve made it a goal to be a quieter, calmer, gentler coach as I age. During the games, I don’t want the focus on me. It’s on our players.

My job is to prepare our team for competition. We do this on the practice field. During games, I want to mostly step back and let the boys play. I will be there to guide them, correct them, and help them along. But for the most part, they will execute what they learn during the week.

As a coach, I need to be a model of behavior for our players. I will treat umpires and the opposition with respect. I will keep my cool. And I will behave in a way that will reflect positively on the team.

13. How Many Players Will We Have?

Over the years, I’ve learned the importance of reps. When these kids get to high school, those reps will be more difficult to come by. So for now, we need to focus on development.

I won’t add an eleventh player just to get to that number. If necessary, we may go with 10.

14. What About Playing Time?

Ideally, talent will be close to even from top to bottom. When that happens, it’s much easier to keep playing time within a narrow range. We’ve been largely successful at that with the 14u Spiders.

That said, playing time will not be even. We will try to win. Some players will be better than others at pitching and other positions. As a result, players will earn their roles.

I will use league games and pool play games to help even out playing time and opportunities, particularly in the first half of the season. I want all players to have multiple positions that they can play — ideally, everyone will play in the outfield.

We will move kids around quite a bit in the beginning to allow players to earn their spots. But in the end, opportunities, at bats, and playing time won’t be the same for everyone.

15. What Will All of this Cost?

The cost of travel ball tends to fall within a very wide range. But if you go through a facility like Bardo’s, it’s going to cost more.

Access to Bardo’s costs close to $2,000 per season (per player) by itself. Add in tournaments, league, uniforms, and other expenses, and we’re talking about a final cost for the season of between $3,000 and $3,500. Expect that cost.